In the new era of the dynamic duo on the NBA, Kyle Kuzma hopes to emerge as a third star in Los Angeles alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The 24-year-old forward has plenty of questions to answer about his fit with those two superstars, most notably whether he can become a consistent three-point shooter now that the paint figures to be a fairly congested area with James and Davis. He was showing improvement in that area in his time with USA Basketball during the build up to the World Cup, but his stint with the team ended in Australia during exhibition games after he suffered what was initially ruled a sore ankle.”
We now know, courtesy of Marc Stein of the New York Times, that Kuzma’s injury is a stress injury of some sort and his chance to begin building on court chemistry with the new-look Lakers will be delayed a bit. Per Stein, the Lakers expect Kuzma to be out to start camp, but believe he’s trending in the right direction.
More on our AM story: The Lakers indeed expect Kyle Kuzma to miss the start of training camp as he continues to recover from a stress injury in his lower left leg, league sources say. The team will issue a formal update this week, with Kuzma's rehab said to be progressing well
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 24, 2019
The injury, initially labeled "ankle soreness" last month while Kuzma was on @usabasketball duty, forced Team USA to send him home from Australia after the third-year Laker was expected to land a significant frontcourt role for Gregg Popovich
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 24, 2019
The hope, of course, for the Lakers is that Kuzma will be on the court sooner rather than later, but given how last year went with injury issues plaguing the team, it’s probably wise to err on the side of caution with Kuzma entering camp. Depth is one of the most significant questions facing the Lakers and they need to do everything possible to keep their top guys healthy.
It doesn’t seem as though this is an issue they expect to carry over into the regular season, but expect them to be fairly careful with Kuzma and the rest this preseason.
